Oklahoma Gymnasts Sweep Final Big 12 Awards
By OU Media Relations
A trio of Oklahoma gymnasts swept the final Big 12 Conference weekly awards, the conference announced Tuesday.
Ragan Smith was named Gymnast of the Week, Katherine LeVasseur was Event Specialist of the Week and Faith Torrez was named Newcomer of the Week.
Smith notched her seventh weekly league honor and second Big 12 Gymnast of the Week accolade. The last time Smith earned a weekly conference award was over a year ago on Feb. 8, 2022. LeVasseur’s third Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week accolade is her fifth weekly league honor and third this season. The most for a single gymnast this season, Torrez earned a league-best seventh weekly conference honor. Torrez is the fifth Sooner to match a conference record for most selections in a single season, joining Kiara Redmond, Maggie Nichols, and teammates Olivia Trautman and Jordan Bowers.
This also marked the fifth time this season Oklahoma swept weekly conference honors. Four of five gymnasts who earned earn multiple weekly conference accolades this season are Sooners: Torrez (seven), Bowers (four), LeVasseur (two) and sophomore Danielle Sievers (two).
In front of 6,175 fans – the seventh-best crowd in program history and Oklahoma's second largest for a regular season finale meet – the trio were all instrumental in leading the Sooners to the third-best score in the nation this season and tied for seventh-highest in program history in a 198.400-195.925 win over No. 14 Arizona State on Sunday. With its sixth score of 198 or higher this season, the team improved to 14-1 in 2023 and hold the best scores nationally at home (198.575), on the road (198.425) and at a neutral site (198.125).
A pair of career-highs from Smith (9.975) and Torrez (matched 9.950) on floor helped the Sooners match a season-high 49.750, the third-highest in program history and second-highest score in the nation this season on the event.
Smith shined on her senior night, winning her 14th career beam title and 11th on floor for eighth and 10th in program history. On the season, Smith won her first floor title and second beam title Over the weekend, she held the top scores in the Big 12 on beam (shared with Torrez) and floor. Nationally, Smith is in a four-way tie for 11th on beam with a 9.935 NQS and is ranked No. 18 in the nation with a 9.925.
After some struggles on floor the past three meets, Smith hit a career-best 9.975 for the first time since the 2022 Metroplex Challenge on Feb. 19, 2022. With a fall in the No. 2 spot on beam, Smith had the mental fortitude to perform under pressure and earned a near perfect 9.975 on the event. Smith showed consistency on bars with her seventh score of 9.9-plus after posting a 9.900 on the event.
LeVasseur nailed a gorgeous Yurchenko 1.5 for her third career perfect 10 on vault (second in three weeks), fourth vault crown of the season and seventh career title on the event. The 10.0 moved LeVasseur up to fifth in program history for career perfect scores, tied with Smith and NCAA champions Brenna Dowell and Nicole Lehrmann. She now has 12 career event titles to her credit. The San Antonio native was the only Big 12 gymnast this weekend to earn a perfect score on any event and one of just three gymnasts nationally. In the national standings, LeVasseur remains No. 4 with an NQS score of 9.925 and led the conference over the weekend with the highest vault score.
Torrez earned career-highs on beam (9.975) and floor (9.950), and added a 9.875 on bars to finish as the top freshman in the conference on all three events over the weekend. Her beam score also matched the top score on the event overall in the conference with Smith. For the seventh time this season, Torrez matched a personal best on floor for the seventh time this season and has placed second or higher on floor in nine out of 11 meets this season. Returning to the bars lineup for the first time since Feb. 24, Torrez was a last-minute substitution for the Sooners in the No. 2 spot and scored a 9.875, her seventh score of 9.850 or higher on bars this season.
In the current national rankings this season, Torrez is the top freshman in the nation on floor with a 9.950 NQS. She also leads Big 12 freshmen on three of four events – bars (9.880), beam (9.890) and floor (9.950). Since week seven (four straight weeks), she has been the top freshman nationally on floor and is currently tied for seventh overall.
The Sooners open the postseason on Saturday when they compete at the Big 12 Championship in Morgantown, WV. The meet, to be held at the WVU Coliseum at 6 p.m. CT, will be televised by ESPNU. Oklahoma will be vying for its 14th Big 12 championship and 13th under 17th-year head coach K.J. Kindler.
OU will host the NCAA Norman Regional from March 29-April 1 at Lloyd Noble Center. The teams will be announced during the NCAA selection show next Monday, March 20. All-session tickets for the NCAA postseason event are on sale now.